


Still Only Dreams

by PontiusHermes



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Angst, Dreams and Nightmares, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Gentleness, Healing, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Nightmares, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Siblings, Sweet, non-romantic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-19
Updated: 2018-05-19
Packaged: 2019-05-08 20:01:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14701173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PontiusHermes/pseuds/PontiusHermes
Summary: Theon has killed Euron and rescued Yara, and Yara is still recovering from implied sexual abuse at Euron's hands.Kind of a role-reversal from when Yara looked after Theon after Ramsay.





	Still Only Dreams

It was like falling through time, Theon thought as he watched his sister. Like falling back to watch himself from the outside. Most of the time, Yara sat almost huddled in her quarters, the fire she'd harboured for as long as he'd known her smothered to a few stubborn embers. She hadn't said a word of what had happened, what Euron had done, and Theon hadn't asked. Even so, their uncle's dying boasts, allowing for exaggeration, made him sick and unsure how to comfort her. Regardless of Ramsey's atrocities, the many painful ways in which he'd been touched, it had never been like that.

So he served her how he could; a poor replacement for the comfort he couldn't find a way to give, but the best he could do. Bringing her food, ensuring she ate at least a little, dealing with the crew, trying to coax her upon deck. It wasn't enough. She hardly moved of a day, but he heard her pacing during the night, trying to keep a step ahead of the dreams.

It was a clear morning with a cool, stiff breeze, a morning that promised good, smooth progress for the day ahead. Yara was still sitting abed, pressed against the wall, when Theon brought bread and cheese to break her fast. She looked worse every day, thought Theon. More fragile, though her health was improving. More exhausted.

'Have you been sleeping?' he asked gently.

She looked up at him, face lined but oddly blank. 'I try. It's just…'

He set her breakfast down and sat on the crate that served as a low stool beside her bed. What could he say to her, to fill her vacant eyes and breathe life back into her face? It wasn't alright; nothing about it was alright. Nor was there any guarantee that it would be. It wasn't for him, not yet at any rate. He reached out a tentative hand and laid it on hers where it gripped the blanket. She flinched from the unexpected touch, but then took his hand, tracing wordlessly over the suffering written there.

'I'm sorry,' he found himself saying blindly. 'I'm sorry I jumped. I'm sorry I let him take you. I'm sorry I'm a coward, Yara. You deserve a better brother.'

'No,' she said with a touch of her old fire. 'No. You're not a coward. I understand now. Why you leapt. That night… was a nightmare. I know nightmares now.' She breathed raggedly, and Theon felt the completeness of their role-reversal break over him.

'They're still only dreams. He's gone,' he told her. 'You got away and you're never going back.' They were her words, from Volantis, but he'd called upon them so often that they came as if surfacing for the first time from his own mind. She nodded, biting her lip and holding his hand tightly. He leaned over, as she had, and kissed her forehead, and Yara Greyjoy began to cry. He sat on the edge of her bed, drew the blanket around her shoulders, and let her, still holding her hand.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> Pontius


End file.
